Motorsport: Gilmore, Keohane are top qualifiers at Silverstone
The final race in the British Formula 3 Scholarship Class will feature an all-Irish front row with Mathew Gilmore and Michael Keohane setting the pace at this
morning’s qualifying session at Silverstone.
Gilmore, who was also the top Scholarship driver for the penultimate race, secured pole on the final lap edging out Keohane who dominated the session.
Early-morning rain stopped and towards the end of the session, the times improved.
With four minutes of the 20-minute session remaining, Keohane, in his Weathermaster/Irishmobiles.com/Clonakilty Black Pudding car, looked as if he going to hold off the opposition.
Then in a frantic four minutes, Gilmore set the fastest lap - Keohane, who slipped to third behind Robbie Kerr, responded in positive fashion and regained pole with little over two minutes of the session remaining.
Heading into the final lap, he was 0.137 on a second faster than Gilmore until the Belfast driver dramatically snatched top spot. Kerr and Ernani Judice are on the second row.
In the championship Class, Dungannon’s, Derek Hayes is on the third row.
Takuma Sato, winner of eleven races, and already crowned champion, took his sixth pole position of the season.
In the Slick 50 Formula Ford qualifier, Gary Turkington was best of the Irish, he qualified eighth with fellow Northern Ireland driver, Adam Carroll making a late dart to claim ninth place.
Tony Rogers and James Murphy qualified 21st and 28th respectively.
